Universal Patron of Missions, Apostle of the East, Co-founder of the Jesuits, Saint Francis Xavier is still as relevant as ever 500 years later. We dare say that the name Francis adopted by the current Pope, inspired by that of Assis, also carries strong characteristics from the one who lived in Navarre, Xavier, as the Holy Father is urging the Church to become increasingly missionary, to cease being selfish, and to be really concerned about evangelization beyond borders.
The turning point in Francis's life can inspire us in this missionary path. Francis was an extremely selfish man; his beauty, intelligence, and wealth fostered in him a sense of pride and arrogance. The process of encountering Jesus led him to a radical change in his life, putting everything at the service of evangelization. Paraphrasing the Servant of God D. Helder Camara in his poem "Mission is to depart," Francis broke the crust of selfishness that confined him to his own world and stopped circling around himself as if he were the only one.
Thus, with a burning heart after the encounter with Jesus, he literally set his feet on the path. Francis walked so much that it is said if we were to draw a straight line of his wanderings, it would circle the Earth three times. It was a true love that moved this man and tremendous selflessness. Francis went out of himself, leaving his culture, family, preferences, language, and journeyed to Asian lands. There, he became one with others to proclaim a truly incarnate Jesus, a Jesus present in the joys and difficulties of those brothers.
In one of the letters written by Francis to his great friend Ignatius of Loyola, Francis begins by recounting the activities carried out with children in India, emphasizing their intelligence and the potential for developing skills and prayers if there were someone to teach them. In a moment of restlessness, Francis is indignant at those who lock themselves in universities studying so much when they could do so much charity, help in the mission in India, but do nothing. "Many times the thought came to me to go through the academies of Europe, particularly that of Paris, and everywhere shout like a madman and shake those who have more knowledge than charity, crying out: 'Oh! How enormous is the number of those excluded from heaven, who, by your fault, plunge into hell!'"
The missionary fervor troubled Francis and made him contemplate these "madnesses," all for the mission, all for the love of Jesus. For him, it was difficult to understand those who did little or nothing for the mission, even though they had so much to do, as he himself experienced in his missions in the East. It was such a great restlessness that he did not confine himself to a local Church but understood the Church as Universal, as it truly is, and wanted others to understand that too.
